Ah Ma, my father’s mother, made the most delicious acar.  She learned from her nyonya mother-in-law, Ah Chor, the lady we thought looked like the little old lady in the 1960′s sitcom, Beverly Hillbillies, in a kebaya!  Ah Ma’s acar is so well pickled, it could have lasted for months if we didn’t devour it all in a week!  Her trick was to wring the blanched vegetables real dry.  I never really appreciated the nyonya heritage in my dad’s family until much later when I got interested in cooking and realized that my grandmother was probably one of the best nyonya cooks around.  Since then, it’s been an endless effort to recreate many of her recipes from the memory of taste.  This is one of them.

Chef’s tip: Use a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible from the blanched vegetables.  Pack acar tightly in a glass jar and keep refrigerated.  Like kimchi, it will keep for several weeks.

Spice Paste:
10 dried long Asian chilies, rehydrated in water or fresh Fresno chilies, seeded
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced thinly
2 slices galangal
1 piece fresh turmeric, about 1 Tablespoon, sliced
8 shallots
3 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon roasted belachan
4 candlenuts

Vegetables:
2 carrots peeled
¼ head cauliflower
1 Japanese Eggplant
½ small savoy cabbage
12 Chinese long yard beans
1 English Cucumber, seeded

½ cup canola oil
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup of sugar
1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1. In a food processor or blender, grind chilies, lemongrass and galangal till fine. Add remaining spice paste ingredients and process till smooth. Add a little water if needed. Set aside.
2. Cut all vegetables into 1 inch juliennes. Cut cauliflower into small florets.
3. Blanch vegetables. Blanched carrots, cauliflower and eggplant till tender, about 3 minutes, and cabbage and long beans two minutes. Spin and squeeze vegetables very dry. Add in cucumber.
4. Heat oil on medium high. Fry spice paste till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 7-10 minutes. Add vinegar, sugar and salt. Fry till fragrant about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Remove from heat.
5. Mix in vegetables and toss to mix. Add peanuts and sesame seeds and mix to combine.  Let it sit for at last 30 mins for flavors to come together.  Can be prepared in advance.  Serve room temperature or chilled.

Serves: 6

Tags: Malaysian, Nyonya.

The “Sam Poh Tong” temple between Ipoh and KL is a popular spot for KL folks that  stop by to buy the monks’ vegetarian specialty – the Chat Thye – a tightly rolled log of fresh yuba skin.  Some people call it mock chicken, mock goose, whatever.  It’s delicious and high in protein.  Makes a great snack.  It’s always a trick to try to slice it as thinly as you can.

Chef’s tip:  There’s only one place in the Bay Area that you can get fresh yuba skin – Hodo Soy in the Ferry Building, or at farmers’ markets in Berkeley and Palo Alto farmers.  The owner, Minh Tsai, is a true visionary in bringing Asian-style tofu products made from are non GMO, organic soy beans which just taste much better than the ones you find in your Chinese grocery stores.   Well, if you can’t get fresh ones,  reconstitute dried yuba by soaking in warm water for 10 minutes, and then pat dry.

4 large sheets fresh yuba (bean curd skin) about 15 inch diameter, cut into half
½ cup vegetarian broth
2 Tablespoons light soy sauce
1 Tablespoon roasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon cayenne / chilli powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 small piece of star anise

Cheesecloth

Kitchen twine

1. Mix the broth, soy sauce, sugar, sriracha and star anise in a small saucepan and gently simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove star anise and add sesame oil.   Let cool.  Set aside.
2. Spread a 12 x 8 inch piece of fine cheesecloth over a baking tray. Place a half-sheet of the fresh yuba on the sheet
3. Brush the yuba with soy sauce mixture. Cover with another piece of yuba and brush. Repeat until half the yuba and half the sauce is used.
4. Roll the stacks of yuba tightly, taking care to snug in the edges to make a uniform compact cylinder and wrap it in the cloth.  The finished yuba log should be about 6 inch X 2 ½ inch diameter.  Quickly tie the log with kitchen twine.
5. Repeat with remaining yuba and sauce.
6. Brush logs with remaining sauce, and place on a metal/glass plate.
7. Bring a wok of water to boil with a steamer.  Steam the roll, covered, over boiling water for 10 minutes.
8. Let yuba logs cool to room or cool temperature, let it sit at least 30 minutes. Unwrap and sliced into 1/3 inch thickness.

Serves: 6

Tags: Malaysian, temple foods, tofu, vegan, Vegetarian.

Every culture has its own favorite fried dumpling. This is India’s.  Samosas are typically stuffed with spiced potatoes.  It makes a great snack, and for me, a good breakfast, too.  Especially with a hot cup of sweet chai.

Chef’s tip: You will need to make the dough fresh to make it easier to fold the samosa.  Using a food processor to make the dough makes it really easy.  Some folks use wonton skin or phyllo dough to avoid making the dough.  I think it’s more fool proof when you make it from scratch.  Really.

Cilantro-Mint Chutney:
1 bunch cilantro leaves
1 bunch mint leaves
1 Jalapeno, seeded
1 Tablespoon ginger, peeled, grated
1 Tablespoon tamarind or lime juice
1 Tablespoon shallot, chopped
1/2 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 – 1/2 cup water, enough to blend easily

Dough
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons ghee
3/4 – 1 cup ice water (more or less, enough to make a pliable dough)

Flour for kneading

Spice
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon tumeric powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 teaspoon ajman seeds (or a mixture of thyme and oregano)

Filling
2 Russet potatoes, about 1½ lb
2 Tablespoons ghee
½ small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
½ cup frozen peas, thawed
1 Serrano chile, deseeded, chopped finely
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

6 cups canola oil

Making the chutney
1. Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse till smooth.  Set aside.

Preparing the dough:
2. In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt to mix.  Add the ghee and pulse till breadcrumbs form.  Add water, a little at a time, until the dough comes together as a ball.  Transfer the mixture into a floured surface and knead dough for 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

Preparing the filling:
3. Boil potatoes in their skin until tender, about 15 minutes. Peel and cut into small cubes.  Let cool slightly.
4. In a saucepan, heat the ghee under low heat, add the cumin and coriander seed and fry for 15 seconds.
5. Add the chopped onion and ginger fry till golden.  Add the remaining spices, peas, Serrano chile, salt and potatoes.  Remove from heat, and stir in the chopped cilantro and lemon juice.  Mix well.  Let cool.

Assembly:

6. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 1 minute. Divide into 2 equal portions and roll each into a 1/2-inch thick rope. Cut each into 8 equal parts and roll into smooth balls. Place each ball on the floured surface and roll into a thin circle, about 6-inches in diameter. Cut each circle in half (2 semi-circles).
7. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each semi-circle. Brush the edges with water and fold the dough over the filling. Press the edges together to seal. Place on a baking sheet.

Frying the samosas:
8. Heat the oil 350F.  Deep fry the samosas until golden brown.  Drain on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet.
9. Serve with chutney.

Serves: 32 pieces

Tags: Indian, street foods, Vegetarian.